09-15 MARCH 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | p 29
local newspaper ran a picture of the sticker a few times, I realised
a lot of people were noticing the stickers and that I had the power
to create something provocative basically from nothing. In reality,
I was making $4.25 an hour at a skate shop, and yet this campaign
was impacting local media enough to give it attention.What motivated you in sticking up something that was
irrelevant at the time?
The power of creating intrigue and encouraging people to analyse
all imagery they’re confronted with, even if what I was putting up
did not have an overt social message. I also got a thrill from the
mischief of it. It was a fun bit of culture jamming, a kind of prank on
uptight people who don’t like weeds growing through the sidewalk
or seeing images they don’t know how to interpret.Talk about repetition and obsession.
I’ve repeatedly told you I’m obsessed with things recurring... I’ll
put it this way, people are busy and sometimes very slow to notice
things, so repetition is essential in forcing something to register but
then once it registers, the repetition gives it power because no one
feels that patterns and repetition are haphazard, there must be
something important behind it.What drives you to put up stickers quicker than they get
weathered or are pulled down?
I still root for the underdog. I was one once, and I still am compared
to a lot of the massive corporate forces that keep us oppressed.
However, now I have resources to disseminate my images, but still
remind people of the humble beginnings that only succeeded
because of vigilance.Investing your own money to put content out anonymously...
In the beginning, I was very poor, but I reinvested all my money
into disseminating my imagery. Even though most people wouldn’t
connect it directly with me as a person, I know that it was an
investment in a concept that was worthwhile. As I’ve become more
successful, it just means that I have more resources to push my art
and the concepts behind Obey Giant further.How many stickers do you think you have stuck up?
I know I’ve made in the millions of stickers at this point. I’ve
probably put a few hundred thousand up myself.What countries don’t have Obey stickers?
I’m not sure. I hope none. I’ve travelled a lot and placed stickers
in a lot of places myself, but what’s amazing about the sticker
campaign is that it was viral, like a chain letter, before the
internet. And the internet has only allowed it to reach more
people. I’ve had people bring me bootleg shirts from Thailand
and pictures of stickers or stencils from Africa. It’s absolutely
amazing the ways in which an iconic image can be reproduced
and shared.Do you ever see yourself retiring?
If death is an out-of-body experience, I will see myself retiring.Do you feel that stickers as a way of self-promo have lost
their impact?
No, but I understand the question. Anything that becomes
more common has the potential to lose a bit of its novelty and
potency. Stickers are very fast and e�fi cient, but with them being
more common, they need to be visually striking and special.How many times have you been arrested?
Eighteen times, not including skateboarding and fi reworks.What more important – size or repetition?
They’re both important, which is why I make everything from
small stickers to 25-storey murals and posters and stencils of
various sizes in between.What’s the oldest sticker still running?
It’s hard to say for sure, a few years ago I spotted one in New
York on the bottom of a pole that was probably from the early
Nineties because the stickers were slightly smaller back then,
but I saw a sticker in Providence, Rhode Island, recently that I
know is from 1995. Twenty-fi ve years is a pretty good run for a
sticker. I’m not precious about my street art, but it’s nice to see
theoldonesstickaround.Interview: Louis Jensen @SprayingBricks
Photo:
Aaron Alex / Alamy Stock Photo
Images:
Louis Jensen @sprayingbricks